Newcastle United 1-2 Stoke City

[OTF 7280]

“We’ve got two wingers who ran riot in the first half (against Stoke). Even when we put Shola (Ameobi) on in the second half, it didn’t change anything."

 

EVEN when we put Shola on... like he's some sort of secret weapon!

 

If we're playing two 'wingers' then we're not playing a 4-5-1 Nolan you moron. If we're playing two 'wingers' then it's a 4-3-3, however with you out there it would have been a 4-2-1-3, with that 1 doing sweet fuck all. We weren't though, we were playing a 4-5-1 which is essentially a defensive formation where a lot of your attack is on the counter, just how kevin Nolan fits into a counter attacking formation mentality is beyond me. We see on numerous occassions the ball is played ahead to him on his own and he's flat out getting to the ball first with a good start let alone turning it into a quickfire scoring opportunity.

 

A 4-3-3 is a different kettle of fish altogether and perhaps something we should be playing. Nolan thankfully doesn't fit into a 4-3-3.

[sammynb 3353]

“We’ve got two wingers who ran riot in the first half (against Stoke). Even when we put Shola (Ameobi) on in the second half, it didn’t change anything."

 

EVEN when we put Shola on... like he's some sort of secret weapon!

 

If we're playing two 'wingers' then we're not playing a 4-5-1 Nolan you moron. If we're playing two 'wingers' then it's a 4-3-3, however with you out there it would have been a 4-2-1-3, with that 1 doing sweet fuck all. We weren't though, we were playing a 4-5-1 which is essentially a defensive formation where a lot of your attack is on the counter, just how kevin Nolan fits into a counter attacking formation mentality is beyond me. We see on numerous occassions the ball is played ahead to him on his own and he's flat out getting to the ball first with a good start let alone turning it into a quickfire scoring opportunity.

 

A 4-3-3 is a different kettle of fish altogether and perhaps something we should be playing. Nolan thankfully doesn't fit into a 4-3-3.

 

Actually I hate to be pedantic but we currently play a 4-4-1-1 formation, if it was a 4-3-3 everyone bar Carroll would change to a 4-5-1 when defending, clearly we're not because Nolan is dragging his slow arse around the top half of the pitch. In a perfect world with Ben Afra in the centre it would be a 4-2-3-1 when attacking, changing to a 4-5-1 when defending.

But hey when it comes down to it Nolan is showing himself up to be a liability no matter what shape we play.

[Holden McGroin 6544]

I dont think Nolan has been that bad this season. In fact I think he has done more than expected. He is never going to influence play but he will chip in with vital goals. When we get beat he will get slagged off. When we win, his goals will be over looked.

 

If you take him out of the team (for Jonas) you very well lose the only goal threat after Carroll.

[Guest alex]

I dont think Nolan has been that bad this season. In fact I think he has done more than expected. He is never going to influence play but he will chip in with vital goals. When we get beat he will get slagged off. When we win, his goals will be over looked.

 

If you take him out of the team (for Jonas) you very well lose the only goal threat after Carroll.

I take your point and he nearly scored an equaliser late on too but I reckon Ben Arfa would offer loads more there and score at least as many goals too. The biggest problem with Sunday though was leaving Nolan on instead of Tiote when we resorted to a 4-4-2. He's a liability playing as one of a central midfield two due to his lack of legs. It was amplified by the fact Tiote had been all over the park getting challenges in prior to his withdrawal. It was almost like playing with 10 men at times I thought.

Edited September 29, 2010 by alex

[AgentAxeman 174]

The biggest problem with Sunday though was leaving Nolan on instead of Tiote when we resorted to a 4-4-2. He's a liability playing as one of a central midfield two due to his lack of legs. It was amplified by the fact Tiote had been all over the park getting challenges in prior to his withdrawal.

 

 

completely agree

[ChezGiven 0]

Alex is spot on, i thought Tiote was the best player on the pitch and was a mix of surprise/annoyance and disappointment when he swapped him for Shola. About 5 minutes before it i was thinking the only change he could make was Nolan for Ameobi, which would have been fine.

 

Bottom line for me, if Hughton has spent the summer chasing Ben Arfa to play him as a left winger then he's a fucking idiot. Jonas gives us good width and stretches the game, Ben Arfa likes to drift inside so too often in the first half we were slow to move it out left and they usually had cover.

 

On a more positive note, the introduction of just two players does have a big impact on the rest of the team and will take time for them to develop a better understanding. It was interesting to see that probably the best understanding between two players was Ben Arfa and Tiote in the first half but Tiote/Barton and Enrique/Ben Arfa whilst not poor, certainly didnt click.

[vinnieq 0]

The biggest problem with Sunday though was leaving Nolan on instead of Tiote when we resorted to a 4-4-2. He's a liability playing as one of a central midfield two due to his lack of legs. It was amplified by the fact Tiote had been all over the park getting challenges in prior to his withdrawal.

 

 

completely agree

 

Ya, thank god someone else said it too.. More shocking than seeing Stoke win it was seeing Tiote being subbed.. He was deadly..

[loonyTOON 10]

The biggest problem with Sunday though was leaving Nolan on instead of Tiote when we resorted to a 4-4-2. He's a liability playing as one of a central midfield two due to his lack of legs. It was amplified by the fact Tiote had been all over the park getting challenges in prior to his withdrawal.

 

 

completely agree

 

Ya, thank god someone else said it too.. More shocking than seeing Stoke win it was seeing Tiote being subbed.. He was deadly..

 

Totally agree too. I think CH needs to take a risk and play all of Jonas, Barfa, Routledge. See what happens. Best time would be against Man City. Most people have written us off in this game, so try it now and see if it works. Drop Nolan, let Barfa have a wandering role behind Carroll, wandering left and right. Also keep Tiote and Barton in the middle, and this might be contraversial, but I would give Campbell a shout at CB instead of Williamson and see if how he manages. Matches like this where we're expected to get nothing is the games to try different things out. There aren't enough cup games regular enough for that.

[Guest alex]

Think we're actually set up fine away from home, as the results have shown. Going gung-ho against City at their place is suicidal iyam. Blackpool or Stoke at home would've been a better idea for trying Ben Arfa in the 'hole'.

[Park Life 71]

Alex is spot on, i thought Tiote was the best player on the pitch and was a mix of surprise/annoyance and disappointment when he swapped him for Shola. About 5 minutes before it i was thinking the only change he could make was Nolan for Ameobi, which would have been fine.

 

Bottom line for me, if Hughton has spent the summer chasing Ben Arfa to play him as a left winger then he's a fucking idiot. Jonas gives us good width and stretches the game, Ben Arfa likes to drift inside so too often in the first half we were slow to move it out left and they usually had cover.

 

On a more positive note, the introduction of just two players does have a big impact on the rest of the team and will take time for them to develop a better understanding. It was interesting to see that probably the best understanding between two players was Ben Arfa and Tiote in the first half but Tiote/Barton and Enrique/Ben Arfa whilst not poor, certainly didnt click.

 

You want to get your CH thoughts in my Hughton thread on NO. I like a lot of others are still holding fire as CH has done a steady job so far.

[Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1]

City seem to have quite a defensive set up with De Jong/Barry/Yaya, not sure how that will play out against us, will probably result in us getting beaten though.

[Park Life 71]

YOu only have to glance at Tiote coverage and interception stats to see taking him off against a big physical side was basically fatal.

[ChezGiven 0]

Alex is spot on, i thought Tiote was the best player on the pitch and was a mix of surprise/annoyance and disappointment when he swapped him for Shola. About 5 minutes before it i was thinking the only change he could make was Nolan for Ameobi, which would have been fine.

 

Bottom line for me, if Hughton has spent the summer chasing Ben Arfa to play him as a left winger then he's a fucking idiot. Jonas gives us good width and stretches the game, Ben Arfa likes to drift inside so too often in the first half we were slow to move it out left and they usually had cover.

 

On a more positive note, the introduction of just two players does have a big impact on the rest of the team and will take time for them to develop a better understanding. It was interesting to see that probably the best understanding between two players was Ben Arfa and Tiote in the first half but Tiote/Barton and Enrique/Ben Arfa whilst not poor, certainly didnt click.

 

You want to get your CH thoughts in my Hughton thread on NO. I like a lot of others are still holding fire as CH has done a steady job so far.

 

I'm not going to judge him on it all yet, the step up and the new personnel has presented new challenges, he has admitted he made mistakes, lets see what he does next.

 

As i've said, the City game is not that important but the next 3 games are potentially make or break for the season, we need to be at least nearing 20 points at Christmas if we are going to stay up. Wigan, West Ham, Sunderland, Fulham, Blackburn, Birmingham, Bolton, West Brom are all massive games for us and all before the two ties over the holidays we arent likely to get points from. We've got to give him until then to sort a few issues out, last season we didnt really start playing untill November.

 

I would be worried if we hadnt dominated the chances against Blackpool and played well enough to have been 2 or 3 up at half time against Stoke. The result was bad but the margins of error at the moment are miniscule. Thinking back to Souness/Allardyce/Roeder when results were shit, the performances were shit too. When we get there, then we can think about changing him, until then he deserves a lot of time to get things right.

[Park Life 71]

Alex is spot on, i thought Tiote was the best player on the pitch and was a mix of surprise/annoyance and disappointment when he swapped him for Shola. About 5 minutes before it i was thinking the only change he could make was Nolan for Ameobi, which would have been fine.

 

Bottom line for me, if Hughton has spent the summer chasing Ben Arfa to play him as a left winger then he's a fucking idiot. Jonas gives us good width and stretches the game, Ben Arfa likes to drift inside so too often in the first half we were slow to move it out left and they usually had cover.

 

On a more positive note, the introduction of just two players does have a big impact on the rest of the team and will take time for them to develop a better understanding. It was interesting to see that probably the best understanding between two players was Ben Arfa and Tiote in the first half but Tiote/Barton and Enrique/Ben Arfa whilst not poor, certainly didnt click.

 

You want to get your CH thoughts in my Hughton thread on NO. I like a lot of others are still holding fire as CH has done a steady job so far.

 

I'm not going to judge him on it all yet, the step up and the new personnel has presented new challenges, he has admitted he made mistakes, lets see what he does next.

 

As i've said, the City game is not that important but the next 3 games are potentially make or break for the season, we need to be at least nearing 20 points at Christmas if we are going to stay up. Wigan, West Ham, Sunderland, Fulham, Blackburn, Birmingham, Bolton, West Brom are all massive games for us and all before the two ties over the holidays we arent likely to get points from. We've got to give him until then to sort a few issues out, last season we didnt really start playing untill November.

 

I would be worried if we hadnt dominated the chances against Blackpool and played well enough to have been 2 or 3 up at half time against Stoke. The result was bad but the margins of error at the moment are miniscule. Thinking back to Souness/Allardyce/Roeder when results were shit, the performances were shit too. When we get there, then we can think about changing him, until then he deserves a lot of time to get things right.

 

Till the Jan window then?

[Park Life 71]

CHRIS Hughton has claimed Kevin Nolan is the “key” to his preferred system at Newcastle United, and hinted he will continue to play the midfielder in an attacking midfield role despite Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Stoke.

 

Nolan has started all six of the Magpies’ Premier League matches this season, and while a return of three goals is not to be sniffed at, questions have been asked of the midfielder’s suitability for the key position at the apex of a five-man midfield.

 

Summer signing Hatem Ben Arfa would offer greater pace and fluidity on the shoulder of Andy Carroll, but Nolan’s presence has so far restricted the Frenchman to a pair of appearances on the left of midfield.

 

Similarly, Hughton’s continued reliance on Nolan has ruled out the possibility of pairing Carroll with another centre-forward, but having watched the former Bolton midfielder score 17 Championship goals last season, the Magpies manager is not about to apologise for the faith he continues to show in him.

 

“Kevin is a big, big player for us,” said Hughton. “He is key to what we do. What he does for us is play in the important role either off the front man or in the midfield, and he will always get into goalscoring positions – that is what makes him important.

 

“Even in a very tight game against Stoke, he was in that position to get our best opportunity of the second half. I have no worries about a player like Kevin.”

 

Nolan is likely to retain his place for Sunday’s trip to Manchester City, a game that will come too early for Danny Simpson, Danny Guthrie and Steven Taylor.

Edited September 29, 2010 by Park Life

[ChezGiven 0]

Alex is spot on, i thought Tiote was the best player on the pitch and was a mix of surprise/annoyance and disappointment when he swapped him for Shola. About 5 minutes before it i was thinking the only change he could make was Nolan for Ameobi, which would have been fine.

 

Bottom line for me, if Hughton has spent the summer chasing Ben Arfa to play him as a left winger then he's a fucking idiot. Jonas gives us good width and stretches the game, Ben Arfa likes to drift inside so too often in the first half we were slow to move it out left and they usually had cover.

 

On a more positive note, the introduction of just two players does have a big impact on the rest of the team and will take time for them to develop a better understanding. It was interesting to see that probably the best understanding between two players was Ben Arfa and Tiote in the first half but Tiote/Barton and Enrique/Ben Arfa whilst not poor, certainly didnt click.

 

You want to get your CH thoughts in my Hughton thread on NO. I like a lot of others are still holding fire as CH has done a steady job so far.

 

I'm not going to judge him on it all yet, the step up and the new personnel has presented new challenges, he has admitted he made mistakes, lets see what he does next.

 

As i've said, the City game is not that important but the next 3 games are potentially make or break for the season, we need to be at least nearing 20 points at Christmas if we are going to stay up. Wigan, West Ham, Sunderland, Fulham, Blackburn, Birmingham, Bolton, West Brom are all massive games for us and all before the two ties over the holidays we arent likely to get points from. We've got to give him until then to sort a few issues out, last season we didnt really start playing untill November.

 

I would be worried if we hadnt dominated the chances against Blackpool and played well enough to have been 2 or 3 up at half time against Stoke. The result was bad but the margins of error at the moment are miniscule. Thinking back to Souness/Allardyce/Roeder when results were shit, the performances were shit too. When we get there, then we can think about changing him, until then he deserves a lot of time to get things right.

 

Till the Jan window then?

 

Until i feel after watching the side play that based on tte performance (not the result) we have no chance of winning our next game against a team outside the top 5 or 6, home or away. Realistically speaking, if we dont have around 20 points by the start of January then we arent on track for survival but am not sure i'd change it even then.

 

People are too quick to judge and am not sure why you want me to go over to NO to post about this. Certain posters on there were claiming Guthrie is better than Barton because Barton gave the ball away cheaply a few times against Blackpool. The big picture is that even with the bizarre substitutions on Sunday, we were still carving out chances and Nolan should have equalised. Hughton cant finish them off for us, he can only set the team up to ensure we create them.

[Park Life 71]

Alex is spot on, i thought Tiote was the best player on the pitch and was a mix of surprise/annoyance and disappointment when he swapped him for Shola. About 5 minutes before it i was thinking the only change he could make was Nolan for Ameobi, which would have been fine.

 

Bottom line for me, if Hughton has spent the summer chasing Ben Arfa to play him as a left winger then he's a fucking idiot. Jonas gives us good width and stretches the game, Ben Arfa likes to drift inside so too often in the first half we were slow to move it out left and they usually had cover.

 

On a more positive note, the introduction of just two players does have a big impact on the rest of the team and will take time for them to develop a better understanding. It was interesting to see that probably the best understanding between two players was Ben Arfa and Tiote in the first half but Tiote/Barton and Enrique/Ben Arfa whilst not poor, certainly didnt click.

 

You want to get your CH thoughts in my Hughton thread on NO. I like a lot of others are still holding fire as CH has done a steady job so far.

 

I'm not going to judge him on it all yet, the step up and the new personnel has presented new challenges, he has admitted he made mistakes, lets see what he does next.

 

As i've said, the City game is not that important but the next 3 games are potentially make or break for the season, we need to be at least nearing 20 points at Christmas if we are going to stay up. Wigan, West Ham, Sunderland, Fulham, Blackburn, Birmingham, Bolton, West Brom are all massive games for us and all before the two ties over the holidays we arent likely to get points from. We've got to give him until then to sort a few issues out, last season we didnt really start playing untill November.

 

I would be worried if we hadnt dominated the chances against Blackpool and played well enough to have been 2 or 3 up at half time against Stoke. The result was bad but the margins of error at the moment are miniscule. Thinking back to Souness/Allardyce/Roeder when results were shit, the performances were shit too. When we get there, then we can think about changing him, until then he deserves a lot of time to get things right.

 

Till the Jan window then?

 

Until i feel after watching the side play that based on tte performance (not the result) we have no chance of winning our next game against a team outside the top 5 or 6, home or away. Realistically speaking, if we dont have around 20 points by the start of January then we arent on track for survival but am not sure i'd change it even then.

 

People are too quick to judge and am not sure why you want me to go over to NO to post about this. Certain posters on there were claiming Guthrie is better than Barton because Barton gave the ball away cheaply a few times against Blackpool. The big picture is that even with the bizarre substitutions on Sunday, we were still carving out chances and Nolan should have equalised. Hughton cant finish them off for us, he can only set the team up to ensure we create them.

 

I am readying my stalking horse, you look like a prime candidate.

[ChezGiven 0]

Alex is spot on, i thought Tiote was the best player on the pitch and was a mix of surprise/annoyance and disappointment when he swapped him for Shola. About 5 minutes before it i was thinking the only change he could make was Nolan for Ameobi, which would have been fine.

 

Bottom line for me, if Hughton has spent the summer chasing Ben Arfa to play him as a left winger then he's a fucking idiot. Jonas gives us good width and stretches the game, Ben Arfa likes to drift inside so too often in the first half we were slow to move it out left and they usually had cover.

 

On a more positive note, the introduction of just two players does have a big impact on the rest of the team and will take time for them to develop a better understanding. It was interesting to see that probably the best understanding between two players was Ben Arfa and Tiote in the first half but Tiote/Barton and Enrique/Ben Arfa whilst not poor, certainly didnt click.

 

You want to get your CH thoughts in my Hughton thread on NO. I like a lot of others are still holding fire as CH has done a steady job so far.

 

I'm not going to judge him on it all yet, the step up and the new personnel has presented new challenges, he has admitted he made mistakes, lets see what he does next.

 

As i've said, the City game is not that important but the next 3 games are potentially make or break for the season, we need to be at least nearing 20 points at Christmas if we are going to stay up. Wigan, West Ham, Sunderland, Fulham, Blackburn, Birmingham, Bolton, West Brom are all massive games for us and all before the two ties over the holidays we arent likely to get points from. We've got to give him until then to sort a few issues out, last season we didnt really start playing untill November.

 

I would be worried if we hadnt dominated the chances against Blackpool and played well enough to have been 2 or 3 up at half time against Stoke. The result was bad but the margins of error at the moment are miniscule. Thinking back to Souness/Allardyce/Roeder when results were shit, the performances were shit too. When we get there, then we can think about changing him, until then he deserves a lot of time to get things right.

 

Till the Jan window then?

 

Until i feel after watching the side play that based on tte performance (not the result) we have no chance of winning our next game against a team outside the top 5 or 6, home or away. Realistically speaking, if we dont have around 20 points by the start of January then we arent on track for survival but am not sure i'd change it even then.

 

People are too quick to judge and am not sure why you want me to go over to NO to post about this. Certain posters on there were claiming Guthrie is better than Barton because Barton gave the ball away cheaply a few times against Blackpool. The big picture is that even with the bizarre substitutions on Sunday, we were still carving out chances and Nolan should have equalised. Hughton cant finish them off for us, he can only set the team up to ensure we create them.

 

I am readying my stalking horse, you look like a prime candidate. :icon_lol:

 

You've got the fully forged kitchen knives out already?

[Andrew 4721]

City seem to have quite a defensive set up with De Jong/Barry/Yaya, not sure how that will play out against us, will probably result in us getting beaten though.

 

the thing is barry and toure also happen to be very good passers and theres no question that their system is 4 3 3 probably with milner/tevez/silva as the front three

[vinnieq 0]

I'm not too worried about City... They're the new Middlesborough.. Do alright against the top 4 then do rubbish against the rest of the league.. Not a bit organised either.. DeJong could be trouble for Barton is all.. Poor auld Joey eh?

[OTF 7280]

“Even in a very tight game against Stoke, he was in that position to get our best opportunity of the second half. I have no worries about a player like Kevin.”

 

Was he fuck. Jonas passed the ball square to him standing in that position and he wasted it. He can get into whatever position he wants but there's no point in being there if you can't even put a shot on target.

 

Kevin Nolan started 47 games for us last season (was a sub in 1) and scored 18 goals. Counting all appearances as full games that's a goal every 2.67 games.

 

Peter Lovenkrands started 21 games (came on as a sub in 11) scoring 16 goals. Counting all appearances as full games that's a goal every other game (2.0 games).

 

Shola Amoebi started 12 games (sub in 9) and scored 11 goals. Counting all appearances as full games that's a goal every 1.91 games.

 

Let the numbers do the talking.

 

If you go back to their last year in the Premier League:

(Apps/Goals/Average games to score goal (lower is better))

 

Kevin: 22/1/22

Peter: 12/3/4

Shola: 22/4/5.5

 

 

PS - Damien Duff averaged 1 goal per game for us last season!

Edited September 29, 2010 by OzToonFan

[Dr Gloom 21847]

After reading those comments from CH, i kind of hope Nolan picks up a knock and takes the decision out of his hand

[Tooj 17]

Nobody moans about 451 against teams away from home, people moan about a defensive line-up against fucking Blackpool and shitty Stoke.

 

4-5-1 isn't necessarily a defensive formation, it depends on how you play. I don't think we were defensive against Blackpool, and when you start with 2 wingers and a shadow striker (yes I know it's only Nolan but still) it's harsh to call that overly negative in my view. If it had been like the beginning of last season where we sometimes lined up with a midfield of Gutierrez, Smith, Nolan, Barton and Guthrie then I'd be inclined to agree with you, but that hasn't been the case.

 

If he was to drop Nolan and stick Ben Arfa in the hole, with Gutierrez out wideit would be the same system, but no-one could say it was negative or defensive.

 

good point. chelsea play 4-5-1 at home and no one calls it defensive.

 

it's the right formation with the wrong players - the system needs mobility and pace in the front 4. hughton's got it half right by dropping smith for tiote. now he needs to drop nolan for gutierrez. i've been impressed with hughton so far this season but he has a big call to make now and it's a test for him. at home, he should be playing our three most attack minded midfielders - routeledge, ben arfa and gutierrez. i don't mind nolan playing in the hole away from home but against poorer quality teams we need more pace behind the front man.

It's more of a 4-3-3 like.

[Dr Gloom 21847]

Nobody moans about 451 against teams away from home, people moan about a defensive line-up against fucking Blackpool and shitty Stoke.

 

4-5-1 isn't necessarily a defensive formation, it depends on how you play. I don't think we were defensive against Blackpool, and when you start with 2 wingers and a shadow striker (yes I know it's only Nolan but still) it's harsh to call that overly negative in my view. If it had been like the beginning of last season where we sometimes lined up with a midfield of Gutierrez, Smith, Nolan, Barton and Guthrie then I'd be inclined to agree with you, but that hasn't been the case.

 

If he was to drop Nolan and stick Ben Arfa in the hole, with Gutierrez out wideit would be the same system, but no-one could say it was negative or defensive.

 

good point. chelsea play 4-5-1 at home and no one calls it defensive.

 

it's the right formation with the wrong players - the system needs mobility and pace in the front 4. hughton's got it half right by dropping smith for tiote. now he needs to drop nolan for gutierrez. i've been impressed with hughton so far this season but he has a big call to make now and it's a test for him. at home, he should be playing our three most attack minded midfielders - routeledge, ben arfa and gutierrez. i don't mind nolan playing in the hole away from home but against poorer quality teams we need more pace behind the front man.

It's more of a 4-3-3 like.

 

same difference. 4-3-3 when attacking becomes a 4-5-1 when defending. it's still playing with one striker, three midfielders and two wide men however you label it - same as us.

[Park Life 71]

Nobody moans about 451 against teams away from home, people moan about a defensive line-up against fucking Blackpool and shitty Stoke.

 

4-5-1 isn't necessarily a defensive formation, it depends on how you play. I don't think we were defensive against Blackpool, and when you start with 2 wingers and a shadow striker (yes I know it's only Nolan but still) it's harsh to call that overly negative in my view. If it had been like the beginning of last season where we sometimes lined up with a midfield of Gutierrez, Smith, Nolan, Barton and Guthrie then I'd be inclined to agree with you, but that hasn't been the case.

 

If he was to drop Nolan and stick Ben Arfa in the hole, with Gutierrez out wideit would be the same system, but no-one could say it was negative or defensive.

 

good point. chelsea play 4-5-1 at home and no one calls it defensive.

 

it's the right formation with the wrong players - the system needs mobility and pace in the front 4. hughton's got it half right by dropping smith for tiote. now he needs to drop nolan for gutierrez. i've been impressed with hughton so far this season but he has a big call to make now and it's a test for him. at home, he should be playing our three most attack minded midfielders - routeledge, ben arfa and gutierrez. i don't mind nolan playing in the hole away from home but against poorer quality teams we need more pace behind the front man.

It's more of a 4-3-3 like.

 

same difference. 4-3-3 when attacking becomes a 4-5-1 when defending. it's still playing with one striker, three midfielders and two wide men however you label it - same as us.

 

It's nothing like how we play tbf. Drogba and Anelka are both roaming forwards with pace and guile who interchange, taking turns to come deep. They in turn get overlapped by Kalou and Lampard and Malouda etc..It's a rotating 433.

 

 

------------Drogba------

 

-------Malouda-----Aneilka---

 

 

------------Essien-------

 

------Ramires---Obi-------

Edited September 29, 2010 by Park Life